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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http : //books . google . com/| f ^^ ^ -Cru > ^^4^>j^/ti.e^ i^^UOiZC^ \ \v '^"^ T^ \\eda\v>Q , f •' I I I r \ ^^oh^'\<^ ]?-cvn^VNavi . L I IT E • • • .i\.-IN IJ • • • tim:es • • • OF • • • JONATHAN BRYAN, 1708-1788, • ^ • 13 Jl • • • MBS. J. H. REDDING, WAYCR08S, GEORGIA. ^ COPTSIGHTED 1901 By MBS. J. H. REI>DIXG. -1- • • » . • • • • • t, • • »i " • • • ■• • • • • * • « • • • SAYASINAH GA.': THE MORNING NEWS PRInV*; W* * 1901 * • « • •'* •••• k" -1 - - . • » ' r - ■• -••*S,* • » ^^^ Art T^E NEW ynpir ASTOR r PK,., " « 1830 , • »■ « • » « • • • • » « • « • « • « * • •> • • • • > • '• • • • •• • « • « • • « *■ • • CHAPTER I. South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, by nature and events, have been closely linked together, and their histories so interwoven, it would be impossible to write the biography of one who was born in South Carolina in 1708, and died in Georgia in 1788, whose services, first to the British Crown, and later in the cause of American Independence embraced fifty years of that period, without some description of the scenes in which he lived, and the men with whom he was associated. The first English colony landed in South Carolina near Port Royal in the year 1670. Settlements were made by several English gentlemen, who purchased the land from a company chartered by Charles II in 1663, under whose corporate authority North Carolina M had been colonized. The second governor. Sir John ^ Yeamans, carried with him, in 167 1^ fifty families of ^. colonists from Barbadoes, and nearly two hundred ^ slaves. In this way slavery was introduced into South ^ Carolina. This colony was strengthened by others, who, filled with the spirit of adventure and thrilled with enthusiasm by descriptions of the country, left the congested centres of civilization in the old world for ^. America, where freedom of conscience and oppor- \i tunity, like stars of hope, beckoned them onward. Not "1 V only the oppressed and the sons of toil, but the chil- dren of luxury were fascinated with such descriptions as Waller's account of an island in this region : ''The lofty cedar which to Heav'n aspires, The prince of trees is fuel for their fires, The sweet Palmettoes a new Bacchus yield. With leaves as ample as the broadest shield, Under the shadow of whose friendlv bouofhs They sit carousing, where their liquor grows. Figs there unplanted through the fields do grow; ; Such as fierce Cato did the Romans show : With the rare fruit inviting them to spoil Carthage, the mistress of so rich a soil. With candid Plantines and the juicy Pine, On choicest Melons and sweet Grapes they dine. And with Potatoes fat their lusty swine. The kind spring, which but salutes us here, Inhabits there, and courts them all the year. Ripe fruits and blossoms on the same trees live, At once they promise, what at once they give. So sweet the air. so moderate the clime, None sickly lives, or dies before his time, Heav'n sure has kept this spot of earth uncurst, To show how all things were created first." From the vast phosphate beds of South Carolina to those of Florida, with the higher elevation of Geor- gia lying between, a country great enough in extent to sustain an empire, and with soil and climate unsur- passed, it is not strange that Spain struggled to call this fair land her own from the gold regions of North Georgia to the sea ; nor that, when the colonist reached this country, now divided into three states, with its long coast line washed by the Atlantic and Gulf, gi- gantic forests filled with game, and rivers great, abound- ing in life, the imagination could go no further, and some were ready to declare: ''Here is the life-giving fountain, the beautiful fountain of youth." But to the philosopher, the humanitarian, the practical side appeared, and Oglethorpe wrote back to England : " The Colony of Georgia, lying in about the same latitude with part of China, Persia, Palestine and the Madeiras, it is highly probable, that when hereafter iPshall be well peopled and rightly cultivated, Eng- land may be supplied from thence with raw silk, wine, oil, dyes, drugs and many other materials for manu- facture, which she is obliged to purchase from South- ern countries." Antedating the advent of the Indians, the phos- phate beds reveal the fact that a dense population once lived here, contemporaneously with all prehistoric an- imals, and all that now inhabit the earth, and that by some mighty cataclysm these vast sepulchers were made. This was a land a beneficent Father had prepared for the tramp of the coming hosts of another race, this 6 the country we Jcnow not why, the noblest tribes of the Red Race were destined to yield up, not without a struggle, within a little more than a century. It has been said : ^*There is nothing great in the world but man, and nothing great in man, but his soul/' If then the pure great souls of those who have walked the earth stand hke sentinels along the corri- dors of time, pointing humanity to higher hopes, and linking us not only to the past, but to reunion here- after with the innumerable company who have gone before ; if, among such as these, we can claim the found- ers of our republic, may we not justly rejoice in their memories, and leave lor our children the glorious her- itage of their sufferings and their achievements? CHAPTER II. In 1680 another small colony of English gentle- men joined the one that arrived at PortRoj^alin 1670. Among them was Joseph Bryan, of Hereford county, England, But little is known of his life and charac- ter, except that his kindness and hospitality won for him and his family the undying friendship of the Yem-r assee Indians. He married Janet Cochran and they settled in the vicinity of old Pocotaligo. He burnt the bridges behind them, and America henceforth became the home of their descendents. We have the record of four children born to them ; his oldest son, Joseph, probably in 1697; Hugh, in 1699; Hannah, in 1706, and Jonathan Bryan, in 1708 ; three weeks later Mrs. Bryan died, leaving the infant son. Joseph Bryan, the first, owned a plantation called Providence, in Prince William's parish, between Pocotaligo and Prince William's Church — the spot is near the line of the Savannah and Charleston railroad, in the vicinity of Yemassee. Calmstead, lying on the right bank of the Pocotaligo, belonged to his son Hugh; and Walnut Hill, lying between Providence and Calmstead, was settled by Jonathan in 1734. The oldest son, Joseph, gave aid and personal effort to the infant colony of Georgia. Hugh held many positions of honor and trust, and early in the life of the colony became identified with its interests. An old map. gives this record : "South Carolina and a part of Georgia, containing the whole sea coast, all the islands, inlets, rivers, creeks, parishes, and townships, burroughs, roads, bridges, as also sev- eral plantations with their proper boundaries and the names of their proprietors, compiled from surveys taken by the Hon. William Bull, Esq., Lieut. Gov. Gascoigne, Hugh Bryan, Esq., and William deBraham, Esq., Sur- veyor General of the Southern District of North Amer- ica. Republished with considerable additions made from the surveys made and collected by John Stuart, Esq., His Majesty's Superintendent of Indian Affairs;, by William Faden, successor to the late T. Jeffrys, Geographer to the King, Charing Cross, 1780." Twelve years before George I had ceased to reign, and when Louis XIV was about to die, peace had been settled between England and France, and the colonies of these two countries would have been left undis- turbed to pursue their own development, but the Span- iards, then in occupation of Florida, claiming that their territory covered the subsequent province of Georgia, extending even to Virginia, were permanent enemies on the Southern frontier of South Carolina. They made allies of unfriendly Indians, and gave refuge to runaway slaves. The whole Indian world from Mobile to Cape Fear was in commotion. The Yemassees of South Carolina, the most warlike of all the Southern tribes, renewed friendly relations with the Spaniards at St. Augustine, won alliances with many other tribes, and on the morning of Good Friday, April 15, 1715 indiscriminate massacre of the English began, hiding by day in the swamps, and by night attacking settle- ments. All who could fled to Charlestown (afterwards called Charleston), which was also in peril, and the colony seemed near its ruin. At last the deliberate courage of civilized man prevailed, and the savages fled. The colonists checked them on the north, and they vanished into the forest. On the south, Charles Craven, Governor of the province, pursued them ; the Yemassees retired into Florida and were warmly wel- 9 corned to St. Augustine by the Spaniards, with peals from bells and a salute of guns. Gov. Craven, on his return to Charlestown, was greeted with gratitude and applause. The locality where this bloody conflict be- gan is identical with the seat of the Bryan family, who escaped massacre solely because of the kindness shown the Indians by Joseph Bryan. Hugh Bryan was in his seventeenth year, and was carried a captive to Flor- ida. The Indians solicited his death whenever they heard of the success of the Carolinians, but the King interposed in his behalf and would not hurt him, be- cause of regard for his father. While in Florida, where he was held in captivity a year, he found a Bible and a copy of Bishop Beveridge's Private Thoughts, both the Indians had taken from some white family they had killed. These were his constant companions, and, surrounded by savages, he found a refuge in God. Later in life he became an ardent follower and close companion of Whitefield. The third child of Joseph Bryan, Hannah, mar- ried William Edwards Cochran. In 1732 Joseph Bryan, Sr., died. But little is known of his life, and he was not prominent in any of the public events of the day, but his influence over the character of his children, and the reverence in which he was held by the Indians, leaves his memory fragrant. 10 CHAPTER HI. A painful sense of insecurity took possession of the English colony in South Carolina. They lost four hundred inhabitants in the struggle with the Yemassees, protracted wars and incursions of pirates reduced their numbers and resources, and they decided if an appeal to the Lord Proprietors failed, to apply to the Crown for assistance. The answer to this appeal was unsatis- factory, so their agents, through the House of Com- mons, besought the King for speedy relief. The King had the difficulties investigated, as North Carolina had also long been agitated by like troubles. The Claren- don charter, extending from lat. 30 to 36 degrees, granted by Charles II of England, was declared for- feited by Parliament 1 729. The Lord Proprietors, ex- cept Lord Cateret, gave up the contest and sold their interest to the King, in sterling money equivalent to 45,000 Spanish mill dollars ; each colony received the same amount. What is now Georgia had been em- braced in this charter. Thus ended the unwise experi- ment of attempting to legislate for people, whose wants were unknown, who cared not for titles nor pageantry, and the constitution prepared for the Lord Proprietors by John Locke, the great English philosopher, called the Grand Model, proved a complete failure. After this the government of North and South Carolina de- volved on the Crown, subject to the limitations, fran- 11 chises and privileges secured to the settlers by charter, although they relinquished all claim to the soil. It is probable that about this time Jonathan Bryan went to England and received a university education, as twenty-five years later he received an appointment, only given to those who had acquired in these halls of learning a knowledge of English law. (Jones' History of Georgia, Vol. I, page 465.) It was at this period that James Edwarcl Ogle- thorpe, the peerless hero of that day, soldier, statesman, philanthropist and a member of parliament, became so interested in the poor of England, whose unjust laws crushed and rendered them powerless to better them- selves, also the condition of the distressed and perse- cuted Salzburgers, that he determined to seek homes for them in America. In 1729 a persecution was be- gun under Leopold, Duke of Austria, that continued with violence until 1732 against the Salzburgers, so called from Salzburg, the broad valley of the Salza, which lies between the Norric and Rhetian Alps. They were Protestants (Lutherans), and experienced every species of outrage fanaticism could invent. Their property was confiscated ; they were whipped, impris- oned, murdered, banished, children torn from parents, husbands from wives, and over thirty thousand were compelled to seek safety in other countries. These were the people whose condition appealed to the great heart of Oglethorpe, and he secured for them a grant of 12 territory for a colony to be named in honor of the King. It extended "from the head waters of the Sa- vannah river to its mouth ; thence along the coast to the Altamaha ; up that river to its head waters, and thence westerly in direct line from the head waters of said rivers respectively to the South seas/' which was equivalent to an indefinite western extension. The land lying between these two rivers was the same chosen in 1717 by Sir Robert Montgomery to form a province independent of Carolina to be called the Margravate of Azilia. A yearly quit rent of one penny per acre was to be paid to the Lord Proprietors, and the agreement included concessions on both sides. The time limit for settlement was three years from the date of grant, and, failing to secure immigration, it be- came void. Now, Oglethorpe undertook to colonize the territory, Sir Robert described as: "The most amiable country of the universe ; that nature has not blessed the world with any tract which can be preferable to it ; that Par- adise with all her virgin beauty may be modestly sup- posed at most, but equal to its excellencies. It lies in the same latitude with Palestine herself that promised Canaan, which was pointed out by God's own choice, to bless the labors of a favorite people/' Fair Georgia, our own loved land, whose meadows and mines, climate, soil, fruits, flowers and game have proven all that these ardent admirers of nature de- 13 scribed ; whose hills and streams, water falls and val- leys make her sons and daughters now declare, as the Psalmist of old, that : '*She is beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole earth." This was to be the refuge of the honestly unfortunate, and those who were martyrs in the cause of truth. The land was conveyed to Oglethorpe and twenty-one noblemen and gentlemen to hold in trust for purposes named. Never were more liberal terms granted ; never more unselfish service given to humanity. The trustees contributed liberally of their private means, and generous response was made to Oglethorpe's appeal for aid. The whole na- tion was in sympathy with the enterprise. Great wis- dom was displayed in every detail of the plans ; the trustees forbade the importation of rum and negro slaves; every precaution was taken to insure success. Papists only were excluded. Great care was exercised in the selection of immigrants ; no one was permitted to come who was not by competent authority judged worthy of citizenship. The men were expected to be both soldiers and planters, and for that reason reliable and strong men were selected, who agreed to conform to the terms of the trustees. Oglethorpe, at his own request, bearing his own expenses and that of his serv- ants, took charge of the colony without expectation of reward. At the age of thirty-five he took passage for Georgia on the galley Anne, November, 1732. There were a hundred and thirty persons on board. The 14 Duke of Newcastle, then at the head of colonial affairs, had addressed letters to the governors of the American provinces, commending Oglethorpe and his mission. This royal command, however, was not necessary to insure his welcome to South Carolina. The protection of the colony on the south, the character of the man, the human sympathy for their countrymen from the old world, all aroused deep and earnest interest in the safe arrival of the colony at Charlestown, where the Anne anchored outside the bar, January 13, 1733. The governor, Robert Johnson, gave them a warm welcome, and they were treated with great hospitality. The next day they sailed for Port Royal, and thence to Beaufort, where they arrived in the early morning January 19 ; they were saluted by artillery; the colonists were in- vited to land and refresh themselves. A few days later, Mr. Oglethorpe having left the col- onists in South Carolina (where they were most hos- pitably entertained), with Col. William Bull, landed in Georgia. They speedily sought an interview with Tomochichi, the mico or king of the Yamacraws, a tribe whose town lay near the spot on the high bluft Oglethorpe desired to select for the site of the new town. Two kingly men, representatives of two races and two continents, recognized in each other the nobil- . ity of manhood, and the heartbeat of human brother- hood drew them at once to each other. As deep and tender as was Oglethorpe's interest for the Salzburgers 15 was Tomochichi's for the scattered remnant of the Yemassees. Soon after the treaty was made, which was never broken, he pleaded for these erring ories, whose savage nature had been spurred on by the Span- iards until almost exhausted, now earnestly desired to return to the graves of their ancestors. True to the end, he used his earnest efforts to influence all other tribes to friendly relations with the English. The treaty with the lower Creeks and Uchees was ratified October 18, 1733, and Georgia stands as deeply indebt- ed to Tomochichi as to Oglethorpe for the stability of the colony. Oglethorpe located his tent beneath four tall pines fronting the river; four large tents were pitched to accommodate the colonists until houses could be built On the afternoon of January 31, 1733, having been two days on their journey from South Car- olina, the colonists landed in Georgia. In the early morning of February 2 the people were called togeth- er ; thanksgiving was offered to God for their safe arri- val, and His blessings invoked upon the colony, and "Amid the aisles of the dim woods rang, The anthems of the free." 16 CHAPTER IV. In the wonderful art exhibit at the World's Fair in Chicago, perhaps no picture left a greater impression on the minds of the hosts, who saw it, than ''The land- ing of Columbus," loaned by a Russian prince. How one in that cold distant clime could paint a landscape so true to nature, so radiant with the glow of our own southern skies, seemed a mystery. Let us see this glorious afternoon in a semi-tropical clime, reproduced in Georgia, with the scene somewhat changed but the surroundings the same. Instead of Columbus and his men, Oglethorpe stands near the tall pines he has se- lected to overshadow his tent, many are there of whom we have no record, but we can with certainty declare that there were present Col. Bull and his nephew, who had so warrnly welcomed and entertained him at their plantations, en route to Georgia. They brought four servants and spent a month aiding and supervising the building of the town. Mr. Whitaker, who had sent from his Carolina plantation one hundred head of cat- tle for the colonists, and Mr. St. Julian, who came with his servants to render assistance. A messenger sent from Mrs. Ann Drayton with four of her sawyers. Rev. Henry Herbert, a clergyman of the Church of England, who had volunteered to bear his own ex- penses, and give his services to the colony. Tomochichi, the Indian mico, over ninety years of age, was there, 17 one of nature's noblemen, whose heartbeat was attuned to the voice of the Great Spirit, and his young heir and nephew Tonahowi, whom he afterwards gave to Oglethorpe to educate. Mary Musgrove (Coosapo- nakesee), the Indian half-breed woman, who had mar- ried an English trader from South Carolina, and be- came Mr. Oglethorpe's interpreter* Mr. Amatis, an Italian, whose services the trustees had secured to teach the colonists to breed silk worms and wind silk. Mr. Joseph Bryan and his son-in-law, Stephen Bull, who was the nephew of Col. Bull, brought twenty servants for Mr. Oglethorpe to use as he wished. Jonathan Bryan, who was at this time in his twenty-fifth year, and is descri'bed in White's Historical Collection, as : '*A man of tall and imposing appearance, of great strength and hardihood, and his heart the seat of kind- ness." Oglethorpe selected him to survey and locate the roads, with the assistance of the twenty men brought by his brother Joseph to clear the woods so that the present Ogeechee and White Bluff roads, leading from Savannah, were the result of his work. Gigantic oaks and magnolias, cedars and myrtle, covered the spot where now the spires of churches and the busy marts of trade are found. Balmy odors of forest trees, mingled with the per- fume of the yellow jassamine, our first herald of spring; song birds innumerable, chief among these feathered warblers, the mocking-birds, filled the air with music. 18 The pipe of quail and woodcock, the yelp of wild tur- keys, often startled the fleet deer and other dwellers in the grand old woods. Amid this glow of beauty and flow of wild music the repose of nature was soon to be broken by the sound of axe and saw. Other colonists from England joined these during the year, but it was not until March 12, 1734, that the Salzburgers arrived and were welcomed by Oglethorpe. They had for several centuries prior to the reformation opposed the corruptions of the Church of Rome, and many bloody persecutions were waged against them. They were compelled to secrete themselves in the most inaccessible mountains of Dauphine, France, Alps of Switzerland and Tyrol. During the reformation they were hunted like wild beasts by emissaries of Rome, and suffered every cruelty and malice man could devise. They kept the faith and were not forsaken. The first company that reached America consisted of forty-two families, and numbered seventy-eight persons. The land allotted to the Salzburgers was twenty-five miles from Savannah, first known as St. Matthew's parish and afterwards as Effingham county. They finished their journey as they commenced it, with fervent praise to God for His great goodness as displayed in their past history, but especially in bringing them to so goodly a land. After singing a psalm they set up a rock, which they found upon the spot, and named the place Ebe- nezer (the stone of help), for they could truly say, 19 ; "hitherto hath the Lord helped us." Thus, with devout gratitude to God and reliance upon His goodness, the foundation was laid for the colony. Soon after the Salzburgers were located Mr. Oglethorpe returned to England, leaving the colony in comfortable houses, but deeply lamenting his departure. He left them accom panied by several English gentlemen and Indians, in- cluding Tomochichi, his wife and nephew. In writing to an English friend of the Indian mico, he said he was *^a man of excellent understanding, so desirous of having the young people taught the English language and religion, that notwithstanding his ad- vanced age, he has come over with me to obtain means and assistant teachers/' While in England Mr. Ogle- thorpe resumed his seat in Parliament and succeeded in securing the passage of two bills, one to prohibit the importation and sale of rum, brandy and other dis- tilled liquors in Georgia, also to prohibit the importa- tion of black slaves or negroes. Both became laws un- der royal sanction. After faithful service for the colony in England, he again embarked for Georgia, December 10, 1735, with two vessels, accompanied by many English people and twenty-five German Lutherans. He had persuaded John Wesley also to come as a religious teacher ; Charles Wesley, being anxious to go with his brother, accepted the position of private secretary to Mr. Oglethorpe, and 20 after a long, tempestuous voyage, they reached Savan- nah, February 4th, 1736. In this way was laid the foundation for the Empire State of the South, in which Jonathan Bryan took such a conspicuous part. October 13th, 1737, he was married in South Carolina to Miss Mary Williamson, and lived at the plantation. Walnut Hill, settled in 1734, where his son Hugh was born September 7, 1738. Here in this delightful plantation home eight children were born before his removal to Georgia in 1752. He settled other plantations in South Carolina called Cy- press and Good Hope. Probably not unlike Washing- ton's home at Mount Vernon were many of the South Carolina and Georgia homes of that time. In the writer's childhood many a happy day was spent at one near Savannah, built soon after the Revo- lution. The windows and doors were brought from England, and nearly all the furniture. It was swept away by a torch from Sherman's army, December, 1864. 21 CHAPTER V. The Savannah river, so called from a tribe of In- dians bearing that name, now had nestled on its banks the town of the same name, with settlements scattered through the country as far up the river as Ebenezer, the Salzburgers having changed their location to the river front. In 1735 Oglethorpe marked out the site for Augusta, and sent a garrison there the next year. The river became the medium of trade, boats large enough to carry ten thousand pounds of peltry soon navigated the stream, and from Charlestown to Au- gusta lucrative trade sprung up. The Spaniards in Florida watched the growth of the colony with jealous eyes, and as their trade laws were not free, found many occasions for strife with the settlers in the new province. Oglethorpe soon realized that he must defend the colony against them, and went to St. Simons Island, where he built a house to live in, and called the place Frederica. Jonathan Bryan often visited Greorgia. He and Mr. Barnwell promised to come with a large force of men from Carolina to his assistance whenever Mr. Ogle- thorpe required their aid. At Savannah the colonists were busy in the cultiva- tion of silk worms and winding silk ; also the propaga- tion of mulberry trees, upon which the worms fed, and all kinds of native fruit trees, also many plants and 22 trees imported from England and the West Indies. On the coast and sea islands constant anxiety about the inroads of the Spaniards, and in Savannah dissensions among the traders, and difficulties between the Italians employed in the silk industry, caused Oglethorpe much anxiety. The settlement that gave him no trouble after the location was changed was the Salzburgers at Ebenezer. In the wild woods, surrounded by Indians, these people, whose hearts were overflowing with grat- itude for freedom to worship God according to the dic- tates of conscience, supervised by Rev. Martin Bolzius, a consecrated and learned man of their own faith, in- dustrious, and scrupulously clean in heart and life, were the very salt of the colony. In 1 737 they sent to England 10,000 pounds of raw silk. The impression made on John Wesley when he came on the same ship with some of them from England, was the beginning of a reconsecration of his life, and through him a spiritual uplift in the religion of the world, un- known since the days of Luther. As the leader of the Reformation had learnied that, '*The just shall live by faith alone,*^' and endued with the power of God's spirit to proclaim it to the world, so John Wesley learned from these Lutherans, that there were still higher grounds of Christian living ; that they had revealed to them» that the soul that is hid with God in Christ Jesus knows that, '^Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 23 things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Here on Georgia soil it was appointed to him to learn of the higher life on earth, to walk through the valley of Baca, assailed doubtless by the unseen forces of evil, as well as those that were known. To his faithful friend Mr. Delamotte he gave the task of gathering the children of Savannah together each Sunday, where they were instructed by John Wesley himself, and here was laid the foundation for Sunday-schools, that later in Lon- don was introduced by Robert Raikes. The Lutheran minister and Mr. Jonathan Bryan were also his close friends, as subsequent events proved, so amid the trials through which he passed in a strange land, he was sus- tained with human sympathy. The disappointment of his sojourn in America was his mission to the Indians; it was impossible to teach many of them, except through interpreters (these were difficult to obtain), and even Tomochichi had learned to know that all of the white race were not like Oglethorpe. He told John Wesley that he longed to be instructed in the Great Word, but hoped that he would not do as the Spaniards had done, ^'Baptize the Indians before they were taught.'' Thus Wesley's experience in Georgia prepared him very largely for the work God had in store for him in Eng- land, and among the stars that now shine in his crown, 24 doubtless many Georgia Indians whom he led to Christ are there. Soon after his return to England Rev. George White- field came, to Georgia in 1738. Wesley had preached the Law, and although many who heard him bitterly resented the Truth as he saw it revealed, he laid the foundation for the success of Whitefield. In the power of the Grospel, with glowing eloquence, this brilliant man reaped a harvest of souls for eternity. ^' Paul planted, AppoUos watered, God gave the increase.'' As like attracts like, he visited Ebenezer, and was so im- pressed with the success of the school and orphanage conducted by the Salzburgers, that he returned to Eng- land in 1741, to secure funds to found the school at Bethesda, that is to this day a monument to his zeal, and the liberality of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon. CHAPTER VI. In 1 737 Oglethorpe went to England to obtain troops to enable him to reinforce the colonies against the Spaniards. He raised and equipped a regiment of 600 men, was given the command of all the forces in South Carolina and Georgia, and was henceforth General Oglethorpe. War was declared by England with Spain in 1739, but before this Gen. Oglethorpe, through Tom- 25 ochichi, secured a treatv with all the Indian tribes east of the Mississippi. His diplomacy, the superb courage of his perilous trip to Coweta, where the treaties were ratified, leaves him without a peer in the annals of Indian warfare. Having received orders in 1740 to invade Florida, he called upon South Carolina for aid, and at the head of 2,000 men, consisting of the regiment he brought from England, troops from Carolina, and also a company of gentlemen volunteers from that colony, the Georgia militia, and some friendly Indians, in the spring of 1740 he led them into Florida, for the purpose of cap- turing St. Augustine. Among the volunteers who joined the expedition were Joseph and Lieutenant Jonathan Bryan. They arrived at the camp at St. Johns May 22d. On the 24th thev removed with a detachment of the Carolina regiment to Fort Diego, captured from the enemy about twenty miles from St. Augustine. Here Oglethorpe had established a fortified camp. The General, in the evening, marched out of his camp at Fort Diego, with about 100 men of his regiment, with Lt. Bryan and six of the volunteers, and a party of Indians. On the 26th of May, having marched all night, at daybreak they came within five or six miles of St. Au- gustine, and in sight of five scattered houses, in some of which smoke appeared. Therefore, having called the whole body to halt, at about quarter mile distance. 26 he ordered Lt. Bryan with six volunteers under him to march up and attack the houses. They searched every one of them and brought forth two negro prisoners. For want of more assistance, the General then ad- vancing with the whole party, said : *'Well, I see that the Carolina men have courage, but no conduct." To which Lt. Bryan replied : "Sir, the conduct is yours.'^ The volunteers would have burnt the houses, but the General refused to permit them to do it, saying that they would serve for the inhabitants that he would bring there. The two negroes confessed that they had run away from South Carolina, and according to one of their stip- ulations with the General, were redeemable to the own- ers upon paying five pounds per head to the captors. The volunteers agreed to pay him half the salvage and keep them, or to receive half and give them to him, but the General declining a property in them, refused both and took them to himself. He had previously, at Ft. Diego, taken from these volunteers several horses which they had caught to carry their baggage, and al- though cattle were in plenty, it was very diflBcuIt for them to obtain fresh provisions. The General was ac- quainted with this, but said that Diego Spinola should be paid for all that were killed. This man, entitled Seignor in the articles of capitulation at Ft. Diego, was a mulatto who supplied the garrison at St. Augustine with beef. 27 Ft. Diego had been his property, a cow pen and a house, and for his own safety from the Indians he had had them palisaded around with cedars fifteen feet high Before day, June 2d, Moosa, an abandoned fort very near St. Augustine, was occupied by Oglethorpe, who proceeded to reconnoitre the main fort and the town. He refused to burn the town although advised to do so by Col. Palmer. Lt. Bryan of the volunteers, with three or four rangers, went close up to the town and brought oft three horses. He found the town in con- fusion, the inhabitants shrieking and crying. Upon his return he asked the General if it would not be best to attack the town then, for if he retreated they would make preparations against his return. The General replied, that if he should attempt to storm the town he would lose 300 men. Deserters afterwards reported that the government bad ordered the inhabitants, in case of attack, to go into the castle. On the 5th of June the volunteers, except the General's aid, feeling dissatisfied at their treatment, and disappointed in the expectation of attacking the town, returned to St. Johns. There meeting the rest of the company just returned, Lt. Bryan proceeded no further himself, but joined them. Oglethorpe took possession of Anastasia Island and proceeded to the investment of St. Augus- tine. Ft. Moosa was attacked by night. Col. Palmer, twenty Highlanders, some Indians, and a few others 28 were killed, and the garriso a driven out. Nothing of importance was accomplished by the investment. The English naval auxiliaries determined, on account of storms and other reasons, to raise the blockade of the harbor. Oglethorpe abandoned the siege and retired in July, 1740. The failure of the expedition caused deep mortification, the Carolina troops were accused as one of the causes of the failure, an investigation was ordered by the General Assembly of Soiith Carolina, and they were fully exonerated. The grim monster, Pestilence, that follows war prob- ably had much to do with the failure of the expedition. In a warm climate, destitute of many necessities and all the comforts of life, both body and spirit failed, and even Gen. Oglethorpe, who reached Frederica July 10th, 1740, lay ill of fever for two months in the only home he ever had on Georgia soil. During the life of the colony, seven years, he had labored unceasingly for its safety and preservation. In these days of phys- ical exhaustion his cheerfulness never deserted him. On this isla.nd home, surrounded by be^tutiful gardens of fruits and flowers, fanned by ocean breezes, his phy- sical and mental strength was renewed. Here he de- termined to gather his troops around him, and defend the colony against the foe. History records no higher courage, no better generalship than the defense of St. Simons Island, and it was there, July, 1742, that the Spaniards in America learned that their struggle with 29 England must cease, and later received the repulse, from which they never rallied. On the 23d'' of July, 1743, Oglethorpe left Georgia never to return. In England, Sept. 15th, 1744, he mar- ried alady of wealth , beauty and many accomplishments. In 1765 he was given command of His Majesty '^ army. When the colonies revolted, he was offered the com- mand of the British army in America. His reply was: '*I know the Americans well. They can never be sub- dued by arms, but their obedience can be secured by doing them justice." He refused the command because it did not carry with it the privilege of complete con- trol ovef questions of grievances and reconciliation. He, died in August, 1785, at the advanced age of 97 years. Though neither bronze nor marble records it in Georgia, it is writ in human hearts : He loved his fellow man. CHAPTER VII. Homeward turned the Carolina volunteers in July, 1740, through Georgia, of course, they traveled. On a warm day, much fatigued and disappointed, they reached Bethesda, the home and school founded by George Whitefield, near Savannah. Thd previous January, Mr. Whitefield had been the guest of Mr. Hugh foyan at one of his plantation homes in Caro- lina. There Jonathan Bryan and Stephen Bull met 30 him. Now these weary and foot-sore soldiers received a warm greeting from Mr. Whitefield, and were invited to rest a while at Bethesda. They gladly accepted the invitation, and were refreshed in body and spul. With the ocean breezes fanning the gigantic trees festooned with graceful vines, the odor of magnolia blooms fill- ing the air, and mocking-birds trilling every note in the scale, they were reminded of their own homes in Carolina, with loved ones eagerly awaiting their return, but to hear the most eloquent preacher of that day, to sit at his feet and learn of spiritual things, was the at- traction that made them linger by the way. They be- longed to the Church of England and had been brought up in its fold, but under the power given to this leader in the hosts of God^s Israel, Jonathan Bryan became deeply convicted of sin and greatly concerned about his spiritual welfare. '*He returned home rejoicing in hope.'' The next month Mr. Whitefield was in Charles- town on his way to Boston, and Jonathan Bryan and Mr. Bull again sought him, to be more established in the right way. But it was not until the following Oc- tober he makes this entry in his Bible : "John 3, v and vi. My conversion from corruption to Christi- anity, the time whereof I bless God, I well remember was October 24th, 1740. 0, that this day may be much to be remembered by me when I was brought out of 31 spiritual bondage into the glorious liberty of the Son of God. *'Praise the Lord O, my soul ! While I live I will praise the Lord, And magnify Him while I have my being ! TH JoN — Bryan." In 1741 Mr. Whitefield, en route to England, em- barked at Charlestown. Before reaching Charlestown he stopped at Good Hope, near Port Royal, a planta- tion where Jonathan Bryan was now residing, and was entertained in the hospitable style of Colonial Days. The advent of this man, so full of the life and power of the Holy Spirit, drew crowds around him wherever he stopped on his journeys. The effect of his discourses, the ability to explain God's Word and its power upon his hearers cannot better be explained than in the fol- lowing extract from a letter written by Hugh Bryan to his sister, dated Feb. 8th, 1740: "My sins, which I had overlooked, now stared me in the face. I saw that my natural mildness of temper, gravity, kindness, lib- erality, justice and temperance, not leading me into the excesses of wrath, envying, licentiousness, hard heartedness, covetousness, fraud and profaneness, which many others fell into, had deceived me. On the other hand, the inate polluteness of my soul, as world- liness and self-love, applause of men, lukewarmness, 32 ingratitude to God, slothfulness in His service, un- profitable and sinful thoughts and discourse, these and many more sins of the like nature, I found had laid under covert in the secret recesses of my soul, unob- served till now on a strict search, assisted by the light of God's Spirit, I discovered them to my great amaze- ment/' Hugh Bryan was a man full of emotion and his religious feeling often led him into rhapsodies. His brother Jonathan was of sterner mold, but his piety was earnest and practical, and accompanied the whole conduct of his long eventful life. After the Bible record of his thirteen children, he writes in a vein of prayerful soli